1. Using Data to Help Tell Your Story
July 2019
Paige Teegarden
General Manager, empowOR by CSST Software

2. Briefly Categorize Different Uses of Data and Frame for Thinking about Uses of Data
Measure, Metric, Indicator
Types of Visualizations
Key Mission Metrics
Exercise
Today we will…

3. Data Uses and Purposes Categories of Purposes… Planning
There are different kinds of data and ways to use data with different audiences
“who are you telling the story to and what do you want them to ‘get’?”
Categories of Purposes…
Planning
Operational / Program and Services Management
Strategic and CQI
Outcome/Evaluative
Community / Partner / Communication
Descriptive
e.g. output and quality/satisfaction data
frequency and efficiency measures
Compliance
Change in ‘participant’
Analysis: Change for whom, when, why

4. Framework Clarifying Data Uses…
Categories of use
Primary WHO
Purpose
Data Structured to Show…
Planning
Staff and board
broad set data about environment, agency, community in order to make strategic decisions about where to expend resources
Trends, gaps, performance, strategic skills, and opportunities
Operational / Management
Managers
Frontline staff
monitor what is happening and how well it is happening
Services by staff and by time, Staff Actions, Information about Clients and Process, Feedback
Strategic
strategic position, performance on goals and opportunities for improvements
Aggregated Services, Costs, Client Progress, Outcomes, Financial position
Outcome/ Evaluative
Staff, Leadership, Customers, Board, Supporters
understand what is working and what isn’t and sometimes why
Comparisons over time, between groups, between service interventions
Communication
Community, Partners, Funders, Donors
Build Support & Understanding
Successes and Unique Contributions

5. Telling the Story… What is the story you are trying to tell and to whom Get Specific About the Question(s) or Issues you want to Explore
Five Components of Story…
Data in this…
characters,
Taking the character and see profile and how ‘represent’ a profiles
setting,
Context—what is the environment; setting up what the character is facing.
plot,
Services; what happened, the narrative
Surprises in the data…
conflict,
The narrative
Assumptions that are challenged by data
resolution
And call to action
Data about services, progress and outcome and again broadening it out to larger group
Spend a few minutes making a note or two about what the story is you’re interested in telling and to whom. Who are the characters and why is it interesting (plot/conflict)

6. Measures, Metrics and Indicators
Measure--specific, known and understood data point that tells you how much of something;
we know what it is measuring –validity and reliability come into play here
Metric--calculated from data points or measures;
examples include
Service over time; income over time
Geography + demo
Indicator—how well; measures and/or metrics relative to something else…gives data context/meaning..i.e. achieving strategic objectives
Example … Gas gauge (in the red…means going to stop moving)
Measures, Metrics and Indicators

7. Types of Visualizations
Graphs
Bar Graph,
Pie Chart
Line Graph,
Scatter Plot,
Histogram,
Spaghetti
Heat Maps
Gauges /Thermostats
Other examples: Word maps, Thematic, Mind maps
Line graph—quantitative points over a continuous variable—often time. Not use for categorical data
Box plot—5 descriptive statistical concepts on one graph—min, max, 2nd Q, 3Q, median
Describes a quantitative data sets
Scatter plot – relationship between to variables. Can add color and size to add additional variables into this

8. Buckets of Key Mission Indicator (KMI)
Financial
Customer
Learning
Business processes
Balanced Score Cards:
Mission—Outcomes and Impact
Management and Innovation
Financial / Funding /Stakeholders
Internal Capacity and Culture
Adapted Score Card for Key Mission Metrics and Indicators

9. Example Key Mission Metrics
# / % households served who have had an increase in income to over 250% of poverty
#/% HH who have an assessment showing at least ‘safe’ on 5 core dimensions at exit from programs
#/% HH who went from crisis or vulnerable in 1 or more dimensions to ‘safe’ or better on 1 or more dimensions
Management and Innovation
# new enrollments in a month by program (compare month last year)
# people actively enrolled and getting at least one service last month
# people and HH achieving program outcomes (listed)
# Services (listed) provided last month
Risk Assessment schedule and progress
Financial / Funding /Stakeholders
#/% grants in compliance
List upcoming reports due
Income YtD and Expenses YtD
% income (YtD and historic) from federal grant, state grant, local grant, private foundation, donations, discretionary
#/$ new grants and/or grantors
Asset/Liability
Internal Capacity and Culture
#/%staff rating knowledge of other programs of over 4 on a 5 point scale
#/% of cross referrals that were followed up on within 2 days
# of staff client coordination meetings in timeframe for # of HH impacted

10. Exercise… What is the story you want to tell To Whom
Select / Create Metrics and/or Indicators
Select at least one visualization for the data

11. Paige Teegarden empowOR by CSST pteegarden@empowORbycsst.com

12. When to use Core Visualizations and Statistics to Understand
Bar graph—categorical
Pie Chart –Categorical (out of a whole, small number categories)
Histograms—frequency of X against a continuous variable
Line Graph—a quantitative data by a continuous variable over time (trend)
Couple of Statistics to Understand
Frequency
Measures of Central Tendency
Max / Min
Count versus Percent